THE DEAD TOWNS OF GEORGIA

Orig. pub. Savannah, 1878. Reprinted 1974. Print on Demand Edition 2009. 263, 64 pp. + maps, index

This volume was originally published as Volume IV of the Georgia Historical Society's Collections and includes Itinerant Observations in America, 1745-46, by Edward Kimber. It is an insightful look into Georgia's history through a detailed examination of towns that flourished and then faded away. With specific emphasis on the colonial period, the work explores the role Georgia's settlers played in conflicts with Spanish and British colonial powers, as well as the economic and social factors that caused these towns to thrive, but ultimately to fade away. Specific focus is given to the towns of Old Ebernezer (1733) on the Savannah River, Frederica (1735) on St. Simon's Island, Abercorn (1733) on a tributary of the Savannah, Sunbury (1758) on the Medway River, and Hardwick (1755) on the Ogeechee River. The communities of Petersburg, Jacksonborough, and Francisville are also mentioned as are about fifteen others in a section of miscellaneous towns and plantations. This is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the history of Georgia or the South and in the development and dissolution of towns. Maps and lists of lot holders, as well as other genealogical information, make it valuable for family history. The Itinerant Observations, reprinted from the London Magazine, 1745-46, includes glimpses seen by an English traveler in parts of America, particularly St. Simons, Frederica, and Savannah.